Deck 13: Designing and Managing Services

Question 1

Services high in ________ qualities are those services that have characteristics the buyer normally finds hard to evaluate even after consumption.

A) credence
B) equipment
C) experience
D) search
E) personal attention

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Services cannot be seen, tasted, felt, or heard before they are bought. To reduce uncertainty, buyers will look for evidence of quality. They will draw inference about quality from place, people, and price they see. Therefore, the service provider's task is to "________."

A) position itself
B) add abstract ideas
C) try harder
D) manage the evidence
E) communicate value

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which of the following would be an example of a "pure service"?

A) toothpaste
B) massage
C) copier company
D) car dealer
E) airlines

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Products can be high in search qualities. Which one of the following would be highest in search qualities?

A) an automobile
B) a medical diagnosis
C) a haircut
D) a restaurant
E) root canal

Question 5

There are five categories of offerings for a service. It can be either a minor or a major component of the company's offerings. Which of the following categories consists of equal parts of goods and services?

A) hybrid
B) pure tangible good
C) tangible good with accompanying services
D) major service with accompanying minor goods and services
E) pure service

Question 6

Services differ as to whether they meet a personal need or a

A) production need.
B) quality need.
C) functional need.
D) customer need.
E) business need.

Question 7

One of the special features of services marketing is the provider-client interaction. This is defined as when the client is also ________ as the service is produced.

A) paying
B) product
C) producing
D) prominent
E) present

Question 8

Which of the following would be an example of a "hybrid" service?

A) airline
B) restaurant
C) soap manufacturer
D) university
E) bank

Question 9

Service industries in Canada grew 8.4 percent between 2006 and 2010. Some service sectors grew even more; ________ grew at nearly 11 percent.

A) legal services
B) regulatory agencies
C) management consulting
D) cultural services
E) retail trade

Question 10

Service companies can try to demonstrate their service quality through physical evidence and

A) people.
B) presentation.
C) predatory pricing.
D) profits.
E) pricing.

Question 11

Some services are easy to evaluate by the consumer and others are not. Which one of the following would be considered high in credence qualities and thus hard to evaluate by the majority of consumers?

A) a medical diagnosis
B) a movie
C) a haircut
D) dinner at a restaurant
E) decorating

Question 12

Service companies try to communicate quality to their customers through physical evidence. For a restaurant, which of the following would play a key role in communicating the message "eat here" to customers' best?

A) price
B) symbols
C) equipment
D) place
E) people

Question 13

Manufacturers, distributors, and retailers can provide ________ services or simply excellent customer service to differentiate themselves.

A) financial
B) value-added
C) marketing
D) distribution
E) sales

Question 14

Services vary as to whether they are equipment-based or

A) people-based.
B) historical-based.
C) process-based.
D) service-based.
E) goods-based.

Question 15

A plumbing firm is considered a service firm since they are providing "services" to households and businesses. The service component then would fall into which one of the following categories of offerings?

A) pure service
B) pure tangible good
C) hybrid
D) tangible good with accompanying services
E) major service with accompanying minor goods and services

Question 16

If we say that services cannot be seen before purchasing that is a customer must experience other clues to the service quality besides the tangible aspect, we are saying that a service is

A) perishable.
B) physical.
C) intangible.
D) variable.
E) inseparable.

Question 17

Unlike physical goods, services are produced and ________ simultaneously.

A) created
B) disposed of
C) consumed
D) maximized
E) launched

Question 18

Service industries are everywhere. They include government, private nonprofit, business sector, manufacturing sector, and the

A) insurance salespeople.
B) seasonal workers.
C) service factory.
D) temporary workers.
E) retail sector.

Question 19

Services have distinctive characteristics that greatly affect the design of marketing programs. Which of the following relates to the fact that services cannot be seen, tasted, felt, heard, or smelled?

A) perishability
B) variability
C) inseparability
D) intangibility
E) communicability

Question 20

Some services require that the client be present to conduct the service. An example of such a service is a

A) medical operation.
B) fast-food restaurant
C) car repair.
D) tax service.
E) vending machine.

Question 21

General Electric sends out 700 000 response cards a year asking households to rate its service people's performance. Which step is GE taking to increase quality control?

A) monitoring customer satisfaction
B) enhancing communications materials
C) employing differential pricing
D) standardize the service
E) invest in good training and hiring procedures

Question 22

At the customer counter of your neighbourhood tire dealer, you overhear the manager tell a customer "Mrs. Jones, you have our word that we can fix your car." This comment increases your belief in the service quality of the organization by communicating ________ to you and Mrs. Jones.

A) tangibles
B) assurance
C) reliability
D) responsiveness
E) empathy

Question 23

________ describes the employees' skill in serving the client.

A) Technical marketing
B) Fixed marketing
C) Interactive marketing
D) Client marketing
E) Internal marketing

Question 24

Because services depend on who provides them and when and where they are provided, they are highly

A) consistent.
B) sub-standard.
C) variable.
D) tangible.
E) suspect.

Question 25

When the cell phone providers' offer "weekends free" they are employing which of the following strategies to deal with perishability?

A) complementary services
B) shared services
C) peak-time efficiency
D) differential pricing
E) reservation systems

Question 26

Services cannot be stored, warehoused, or shelved. This is concept is unique to service marketers and is called

A) standardization.
B) intangibility.
C) perishability.
D) heterogeneity.
E) variability.

Question 27

When the lawn service firm advertises, "We can handle all your lawn needs in one stop" and then requires three or four visits to satisfy you, this is an example of which one of the "gaps" of service performance?

A) between management perception and service-quality specification
B) between expected service and perceived service
C) between service delivery and external communications
D) between service delivery and translation of perceptions
E) between management's perception and consumers expectations

Question 28

Big spenders get special discounts, promotional offers, and lots of special service. The service company has classified their customers into

A) market profiles.
B) switchers.
C) complaint tiers.
D) profit tiers.
E) geographic segments.

Question 29

Services are produced and consumed simultaneously. Psychotherapists have moved from one-on-one therapy to small-group therapy to groups of over 300 people. Which of the following strategies to deal with the limitation of inseparability does this reflect?

A) investing in good people
B) using the Internet
C) training others to perform the service
D) using television
E) working with larger groups

Question 30

Marketing excellence with services requires excellence in three broad areas: external, ________, and internal marketing.

A) interactive
B) incremental
C) consistent
D) exceptional
E) influential

Question 31

To match supply and demand on the supply side, marketers can employ a number of strategies. Which of the following strategies has employees performing only essential tasks during peak periods.

A) peak-time efficiency routines
B) shared services
C) increased consumer participation
D) part-time employees
E) reservation system

Question 32

To match demand and supply, service marketers can utilize a number of strategies on the demand side. Which of the following strategies provides alternatives to waiting customers?

A) reservation systems
B) differential pricing
C) complementary services
D) nonpeak demand
E) peak-time efficiency routines

Question 33

As you prepare to enjoy a night at the theater, your expectations rise as you listen to the music, read the reviewers comments, and reflect back to the last time you saw the same musical. All of these form your "expected service." If a "gap" were to exist, it would exist here between your "expected service" and the ________ of the performance.

A) management perception
B) external communication
C) perceived service
D) service-quality specifications
E) actual quality

Question 34

Clients judge the service not only by its ________ but also by its functional quality.

A) length of time
B) attributes
C) price
D) completeness
E) technical quality

Question 35

Which of the following factors that lead to customer switching behaviour is considered a core service failure?

A) billing errors
B) conflict of interest
C) waiting for service
D) price increases
E) reluctant response

Question 36

When restaurants and theme parks add summer workers, they are attempting to manage supply and demand for their services by

A) using part-time employees.
B) increasing enrollment.
C) nonpeak demand.
D) shared services.
E) complementary services.

Question 37

After sending registered letters to the roofing company, numerous attempts to contact the president of the company by phone, and sending copies of the complaint to the Better Business Bureau, you finally received a response from the firm that did not satisfy you. In desperation, you decided to have another company complete the repairs to your home. This is an example of what kind of customer switching behaviour on your part?

A) competition
B) inconvenience
C) service encounter failures
D) response to service failure
E) involuntary switching

Question 38

There are steps service firms can take to increase quality control. Which of the following involves preparing a service blueprint?

A) monitor customer satisfaction
B) standardize the service-performance process
C) invest in good training procedures
D) invest in good hiring procedures.
E) reduce customer contact points

Question 39

There are shifts that favour the customer in the client relationship. Customers are now becoming more sophisticated about buying product support services and are pressing for "________."

A) institutional pricing/services
B) substitute services
C) promotional pricing
D) selective pricing
E) services unbundling

Question 40

Ben Makama has switched his dry cleaning provider because the cleaner did not perform up to his standards. This is an example of which of the following customer switching behaviours?

A) core service failure
B) response to service failure
C) service encounter failure
D) involuntary switching
E) competition

Question 41

Which of the determinants of service quality involves the ability of employees to convey trust and confidence?

A) tangibles
B) empathy
C) assurance
D) reliability
E) responsiveness

Question 42

One study estimated that one-third of all service problems are caused by the

A) expectation.
B) delivery.
C) manager.
D) customer.
E) employee.

Question 43

Top service companies are "customer obsessed." They have a clear sense of their target customers and their needs. Their management looks not only at financial performance on a monthly basis, but also at

A) marketing activities.
B) service performance.
C) employee training.
D) consumer complaints.
E) tangible rewards.

Question 44

A service company can differentiate itself on three levels. The first is reliability, the second is resilience, and the third is

A) employees.
B) assuredness.
C) teamwork.
D) innovativeness.
E) confidence.

Question 45

According to Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry, the fifth "gap" in their service-quality model is the gap between

A) perceived service and expected service.
B) consumer expectation and management perception.
C) service delivery and external communications.
D) management perception and service-quality specification.
E) service-quality specifications and service delivery.

Question 46

Top firms audit service performance, both their own and their competitors' on a regular basis. They collect ________ measurements to probe customer satisfiers and dissatisfiers.

A) focus group
B) chat room
C) e-mail solicitation
D) voice of the customer
E) consumer activists group

Question 47

When initiating self-service technologies, some companies have found that the biggest obstacle is not the technology itself, but ________ customers to use it.

A) convincing
B) utilizing
C) feeling comfortable with
D) enticing
E) adapting

Question 48

According to Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry, the third "gap" in their service-quality model is the gap between

A) management perception and service-quality specification.
B) service delivery and external communications.
C) consumer expectation and management perception.
D) service-quality specifications and service delivery.
E) perceived service and expected service.

Question 49

Not all SSTs improve service quality, but they have the potential of making service transactions more accurate, ________, and faster.

A) tangible
B) convenient
C) inconvenient
D) popular
E) discounted

Question 50

You were disappointed in the way your carpets were cleaned by a carpet cleaning company. The manager of the firm immediately dispatched a "second" team to re-clean your carpets at no additional costs. In addition, the manager made a visit to your house the next day to personally inspect the work and to ensure that you were completely satisfied with his company. As a result, you will recommend this carpet cleaning company to friends and family. This service provider knows that

A) its reputation depends on never receiving complaints.
B) customers evaluate complaint incidents in terms of the outcomes they receive.
C) major and minor complaints do not affect future purchases.
D) word-of-mouth will not affect its success.
E) if the complaints are handled quickly, the firm will not be liable for future damages.

Question 51

Companies that ________ disappointed customers to complain have been shown to achieve higher revenues and greater profits than companies that do not have a systematic approach for addressing service failures.

A) agitate
B) frustrate
C) discourage
D) ignore
E) encourage

Question 52

The first time you tried a local restaurant, the food and service was disappointing. However, giving them the benefit of the "doubt" you agree to try the restaurant a second time. Your rationale is that you have a minimum level of service that you would deem satisfactory and a ________ where you believe that service can and should be delivered within.

A) reliability
B) expectations
C) gap
D) zone of tolerance
E) responsiveness

Question 53

The Hilton Hotel at Vancouver's Airport has a kiosk that allows its guests to slide in their credit cards to receive their purple room key cards. Hilton Hotels are combining high tech and high touch by using

A) SERVQAL.
B) automated teller machines.
C) loyalty programs.
D) self-service technologies.
E) voice-of-the-customer measurements.

Question 54

According to Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry, the second "gap" in their service-quality model is the gap between

A) service-quality specifications and service delivery.
B) consumer expectation and management perception.
C) perceived service and expected service.
D) management perception and service-quality specification.
E) service delivery and external communications.

Question 55

According to Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry, the fourth "gap" in their service-quality model is the gap between

A) management perception and service-quality specification.
B) service delivery and external communications.
C) service-quality specifications and service delivery.
D) consumer expectation and management perception.
E) perceived service and expected service.

Question 56

After visiting a local car dealer and having your car serviced, a day later you receive a phone call from a research firm asking you to comment on your service experience. This is part of the manufacturer's quality control over its dealers and the firm's audit of the service performance by collecting

A) dealer performance
B) customer performance
C) satisfying customer complaints
D) competitive data
E) voice of the customer measurements

Question 57

How do many fast-food chains, big-box stores, gas stations, and even large government agencies pinpoint and fix customer service problems?

A) by using mystery shoppers
B) by training employees
C) by watching for service gaps
D) by encouraging customers to complain
E) by providing satisfaction questionnaires

Question 58

Services can be judged on customer importance and company performance. ________ is used to rate the various elements of the service bundle and identify what actions are required.

A) Reliability-service indices analysis
B) Consumer-quality analysis
C) Key-service indices analysis
D) SERVQAL
E) Importance-performance analysis

Question 59

According to Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry, the first "gap" in their service-quality model is the gap between

A) consumer expectation and management perception.
B) service-quality specifications and service delivery.
C) management perception and service-quality specification.
D) perceived service and expected service.
E) service delivery and external communications.

Question 60

There is a ________ where consumer perceptions on a service dimension would be deemed satisfactory, anchored by the minimum level consumers would be willing to accept and the level that customers believe can and should be delivered.

A) perceived forgiveness
B) zone of forgiveness
C) zone of tolerance
D) value definition
E) empathy

Question 61

Excellent service companies know that ________ employee attitudes will promote stronger customer loyalty.

A) non-threatening
B) negative
C) accommodating
D) neutral
E) positive

Question 62

Cocktail lounges in restaurants are examples of ________.

A) differential pricing
B) complementary services
C) cultivating nonpeak demand
D) reservation systems
E) shared services

Question 63

Leo's manager has asked him and his teammates to demonstrate caring towards customers. They are instructed to learn the customers' names, and use the customers' names while interacting with them. Repeat customers should get special attention, and the team members should remember their preferences and habits. The manager is asking the team to be ________.

A) assuring
B) empathetic
C) candid
D) reliable
E) responsive

Question 64

BRZ Shoes positions itself as a young, adventurous brand. Its logo and brand communication try to give consumers a feeling of excitement and bravery. These ads appeal to the ________ dimension of brand experience.

A) sensory
B) affective
C) behavioral
D) intellectual
E) social

Question 65

Because a physical product does not exist, the ________ of the service provider's are especially important.

A) logo
B) characters
C) facilities
D) colours
E) brand image

Question 66

________ refer(s) to logos, symbols, characters, and slogans that service providers use in order to make the service and its key benefits more tangible.

A) Brand engagement
B) Brand orientation
C) Brand loyalty
D) Brand elements
E) Brand equity

Question 67

Getting front-line employees to adopt ________ and to advocate the interests and image of the firm to consumers as well as take initiative and engage in conscientious behaviour in dealing with customers can be a critical asset.

A) win/win philosophy
B) company policies and procedures
C) extra-role behaviours
D) training lessons
E) conflict management courses

Question 68

A buyer may try to estimate the life-cycle cost of purchasing a product. Life-cycle cost is defined as the

A) product's purchase cost plus any salvage value.
B) product's purchase cost plus discounted cost of maintenance and repair less any salvage value.
C) product's purchase cost plus discounted cost of maintenance and repair plus any salvage value.
D) product's purchase cost plus discounted cost of maintenance and repair.
E) product's purchase cost plus the total cost of maintenance and repair less any salvage value.

Question 69

Many manufacturers price their equipment low and compensate by

A) charging high prices for parts and service.
B) switching repair services to authorized dealers.
C) running their own parts and service departments.
D) offers deals on parts and service.
E) selling unnecessary maintenance plans.

Question 70

To differentiate their service, a provider can add ________ to the package of services already provided.

A) branding
B) secondary service features
C) value bundling
D) primary service features
E) price bands of like services

Question 71

Which of the following is an example of a gap between management perception and the service-quality specifications?

A) A service centre manager has asked his subordinates to provide fast service, but has not specified a time for the service to be performed.
B) The college brochure showed state-of-the-art classrooms, but when the visitors walked in, they saw peeling walls and dull lighting.
C) A nurse visits a patient to show care, but the patient interprets this as an indication that something is very wrong.
D) The hotel administrators think that guests want better food, but guests are more concerned with the courtesy of the waiters.
E) Customer service representatives are asked to give ample time to each customer, but must serve a minimum of 50 customers a day.

Question 72

Which of the following is true regarding services?

A) Services are typically produced, stored, and then consumed.
B) Services are generally low in experience and credence qualities.
C) Service providers develop similar marketing programs for personal services and business services.
D) Provider-client interaction is a special feature of services marketing.
E) There is less risk associated with the purchase of services than with the purchase of goods.

Question 73

BRZ Shoes targets the youth market with vibrant, visually appealing ads in modern styles. BRZ ads appeal to the ________ dimension of brand experience.

A) sensory
B) affective
C) behavioral
D) intellectual
E) social

Question 74

Service offerings can be differentiated in many ways. The offering can include innovative features. What the customer expects is called the

A) complete service package.
B) bundled package.
C) service features package.
D) primary service package.
E) brand package.

Question 75

A brand that is action-oriented and causes consumers to engage in physical actions appeals to the ________ dimension of brand experience.

A) sensory
B) affective
C) behavioral
D) intellectual
E) social

Question 76

Customers have three specific worries when discussing product support services. Which worry derives from the fact that customers count on the seller's service dependability?

A) reputation of manufacturer
B) failure frequency
C) life cycle cost
D) out-of-pocket costs
E) downtime

Question 77

Markers can ________ their services.

A) develop
B) diffuse
C) design
D) differentiate
E) market

Question 78

Research has shown that customers evaluate complaint incidents in terms of the ________, the procedures used to arrive at those outcomes, and the nature of the interpersonal treatment during the process.

A) anger of the customer
B) outcomes they receive
C) personality of the manager
D) politeness of the contact
E) monetary rewards

Question 79

The most important determinant of service quality is ________ which refers to the ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately.

A) empathy
B) assurance
C) reliability
D) responsiveness
E) tangibles

Question 80

In which of the following cases is a service provider trying to increase non-peak demand?

A) Big department stores usually hire extra staff to handle the rush during the holiday season.
B) Chesterton College hired part-time teachers as enrollment increased significantly.
C) AXA Bank set up automated teller machines so that its customers could avoid standing in line.
D) An upscale restaurant has a cocktail lounge where customers can wait until a table is ready.
E) A fine dining restaurant is promoting a breakfast service in addition to its popular lunch and dinner options.